Celebrating winter’s arrival with a Celtic twist

Friday

It has been more than two decades since Kathryn Lorish first wore her favorite black velvet Christmas dress with the lace trim and played seasonal Irish music with her grandfather in violin duets.

Some of those tunes made it onto the new album she has produced with flutist Hanz Araki: “A Winter Solstice Celebration.”

Now performing as Kathryn Claire, the 32-year-old Eugene native started playing violin at age 7. She said she remembers from those early years many of the songs she selected for the project.

Even as a child, Claire had an affinity for days of yore. During a “Little House on the Prairie” phase in about second or third grade, she remembers begging her parents for an old-fashioned Christmas where they would make their own presents and do everything by candlelight.

“They had their own vision of Christmas and, truth be told, our Christmases were very traditional in many ways,” she said by phone. “Christmas Eve was the night. Everyone dressed up formally, played music and we’d open presents.”

Today at Tsunami Books, Claire and Araki will perform a Celtic, winter-themed concert, with music, poetry and stories woven throughout the program. It is not a Christmas show, but a celebration of the season.

There are a couple of religious songs on the new album, but neither musician practices a religion.

“There are a lot of secular songs that are just wintertime songs,” Claire said. “I think the idea is that nonreligious people would be able to find material in it that resonated with them.

“We are just more into celebrating winter in general.”

The album is the second of four planned releases under the moniker of the Celtic Conspiracy. Araki and Claire have played under that name for the past three years, with various guest musicians cycling in and out.

Celtic Conspiracy is not a band name. It’s an umbrella concept they came up with to let listeners know that if they come to a live show, they are in for some traditional Irish music.

“One of the things that I love about this project is we create a show, we print out program and we follow that,” Claire said.

There are unscripted moments in every show. But they are doing the same compositions each time, reciting the same poems and telling the same stories for a polished theatrical performance.

A lot of history to songs

Claire has a rich background in theater, starting when she was a child.

Her mother, Elizabeth Lorish, organized the Christmas pageants at their church, where Claire played a wide variety of roles. She also went to an artistic alternative school that put on many plays, and she was involved with theater after elementary school as well.

“It’s beautiful and it’s seasonal,” she said of her current show. “There is a lot of history to these songs, and personal history.”

From the time she was a little girl, Claire has been attracted to dark, pensive, minor-key Irish music. Creating new arrangements for music that she has known for years is, for her, a special process.

Claire said Araki has an encyclopedic knowledge of Irish music. They looked for tunes with titles that fit the theme and that gave a feeling of winter.

They combine three reels that each have their own title into one piece called “Christmas Eve.” A couple of jigs, “Apples in Winter” and “Frost Is All Over,” are merged for another lively number.

Both musicians sing on the recordings and in concert, which seamlessly combine instrumental music and songs. They also bring a lyrics sheet so the audience can sing along.

The next two releases in the series will be the spring-themed “As I Roved Out” and “The Immigrant Song and the Worker’s Lament,” timed to come out about Labor Day 2012.

“We are heading into this very dark time, and music is a way of bringing people together,” Claire said.

“If you’re not in the spirit yet, come on down.”

Call Serena Markstrom at 541-338-2371 or e-mail her at serena.markstrom@registerguard.com.

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